Army sniper convicted of killing unarmed civilian

[gabosaurus]

A U.S. Army sniper was convicted on killing an unarmed Iraqi civilian and planting evidence to cover it up.
You may now begin making excuses...

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-snipers11feb11,0,6752876.story

[5stringJeff]

Well, the article does state that he was sleep deprived... but then again, so are many soldiers. But, the jurors weighed the evidence and found him guilty, so he should do the time.

[MtnBiker]

You may now begin making excuses...



What excuses do you expect?

[LiberalNation]

I feel kinda sorry for the guy. He could be lying but then either way it's a tough situation and call.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080210/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq_soldier_trial;_ylt=AqzJsUc_g_HJCdqnPqQ1TicDW7 oF


Vela, who is from St. Anthony, Idaho, wept on the witness stand Saturday as he described shooting al-Janabi after the Iraqi civilian stumbled upon a hiding place where Vela and five other Army snipers were sleeping near Iskandariyah, 30 miles south of Baghdad.

"I don't remember pulling the trigger. I don't remember the sound of the shot," Vela said in a near whisper, thumbing the hem of his camouflage jacket and looking straight ahead. "It took me a few seconds to realize that the shot came from my pistol."

He testified that after he shot al-Janabi, he tried to shoot him again because "he was convulsing on the ground and I thought he might be suffering."

"I just didn't want him to suffer. It was something I've never seen and I got a bit scared," Vela said. The second shot missed the man.

James Culp, Vela's attorney, had unsuccessfully argued that Vela was too sleep deprived to know what he was doing.

"This was an accident waiting to happen," Culp told the jury of seven men and one woman in his closing argument Sunday. "What happened on May 11 is clear: These men were extremely, extremely sleep deprived and nobody was thinking clearly."

Vela and his sniper team had hiked through rough terrain and slept less than five hours in the 72-hours leading up to the killing, the defense said.

Culp also called two medical experts who testified that Vela was suffering from acute sleep deprivation and exhaustion. They said he later lied about the events in part because he suffers from post traumatic stress syndrome.

On Friday, Vela's commanding officer testified that he ordered Vela to kill al-Janabi, saying that was the only way to ensure the safety of his men in hostile territory.

[manu1959]

i read where a liberal killed his wife and family......you may now begin to make excuses.....

[diuretic]

i read where a liberal killed his wife and family......you may now begin to make excuses.....

Is that all you have?

[gabosaurus]

Manu has never been especially creative with his responses...

[pegwinn]

A U.S. Army sniper was convicted on killing an unarmed Iraqi civilian and planting evidence to cover it up.
You may now begin making excuses...

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-snipers11feb11,0,6752876.story

Uh Ok, The reason he did not get the death penalty is that the court martial screwed up? Howzat for an excuse?

[actsnoblemartin]

I think this is why were gonna lose the war, were more concered with not offending muslims, and charging our boys with any little mis-discretion, then actually winning the war , that we cannot afford to lose

[LiberalNation]

charging our boys with any little mis-discretion, then actually winning the war , that we cannot afford to lose
Killing an unarmed civilian on purpose is more than a little indiscretion. He might have had a better case if he hadn’t shot at the guy again when he started convulsing and then lied about the thing.

[manu1959]

Is that all you have?

don't sneak up on a sniper team.....

[manu1959]

Manu has never been especially creative with his responses...

listen to the little liberal rich girl ......

[pegwinn]

I think this is why were gonna lose the war, were more concered with not offending muslims, and charging our boys with any little mis-discretion, then actually winning the war , that we cannot afford to lose

Had he simply killed him, reported it factually, and moved on the outcome of the trial may've been different.

Honestly, had the team leader been on the ball, this could have, should have, been avoided.

[diuretic]

don't sneak up on a sniper team.....

I promise I never will.

[Psychoblues]

Convicted?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!? Jesus Christ?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!!? How did the chain of command take it?

[theHawk]

Killing an unarmed civilian on purpose is more than a little indiscretion. He might have had a better case if he hadn’t shot at the guy again when he started convulsing and then lied about the thing.

If his story is true then he didn't kill the man on purpose. The second shot missed totally. If he couldn't hit a man on the ground then that should tell you what kind of state he was in. He has absolutely no motive to kill some unarmed civilian, they were startled and just reacted. Nothing was done out of malice.

[LiberalNation]

Nope, I never said malice was involved. The guy was in a war zone and hadn't slept for days. Most likely something that wouldn't have happened if they all had be relaxed and thinking clearly.